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Thread: Going raw and mood/mental health

  1. #1
    puca
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    Default Going raw and mood/mental health

    Heyhey

    I am looking to better manage my mental health with diet and lifestyle...

    I've considered going raw (or around 70-90% raw) for a while, although have put it off as it looks expensive (I have around £60 per month food budget lol!) and difficult.

    Recently my mood has been yoyo-ing and I am tired of taking 5htp as am worried about long term side effects and am reluctant to go on anti-depressents from the doctor as they don't help and make me aggressive...

    I have read reports of increased energy and better mood for people on raw diets and would be interested in hearing people's experiences (though a thread here makes it sound less energy benefit).

    Ta folks

    SS

  2. #2
    Mew Mew Mew! Kitteh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    I have definitely noticed increased energy myself but I have been bouncing between high raw/low raw so I can't tell you about mentally, yet!

    Good luck with the changes, eating raw can be a lot of fun and v.tasty. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to go all or nothing, just do what you can and do what suits you
    cupcakekitteh.blogspot.com

  3. #3
    Abe Froman Risker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    You're generally going to get mostly positive anecdotal evidence about stuff like this due to placebo affect. People like to feel vindicated that they either had a problem in the first place or that the action they took improved their health (or both). Best not to trust peoples opinions on things like this unless they're based on proven scientific tests imho.

  4. #4
    cobweb
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    I would say, frankly, you won't succeed on that food budget. I tried it once and it cost me a small fortune as i won't eat any fruit or veg raw unless its organic. I would estimate that it cost me around £35 just for one week and that was a few years ago (but i do eat a lot!)

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    baffled harpy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    Perhaps you could try just increasing your intake of raw food, as far as your budget allows, and see if you notice a difference to your mood. I don't think it is necessarily all that expensive if you don't "go the whole way" - after all it's easy enough to eat vegetables like carrots, cabbage and so forth raw and they are pretty cheap, and so's fruit, particularly with summer coming. Sprouting seeds etc (and/or growing your own salad leaves) is also fairly cheap.

    I'm not a raw foodist by any means but I like to eat some raw stuff - saves cooking apart from anything else I can't say I've noticed an effect on my mood but it can't do any harm. I hope you feel better soon, puca.

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    Mew Mew Mew! Kitteh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    In bold for Risker :

    Quote puca View Post
    I have read reports of increased energy and better mood for people on raw diets and would be interested in hearing people's experiences
    Quote Risker View Post
    You're generally going to get mostly positive anecdotal evidence about stuff like this due to placebo affect. People like to feel vindicated that they either had a problem in the first place or that the action they took improved their health (or both). Best not to trust peoples opinions on things like this unless they're based on proven scientific tests imho.
    Would you be replying the same way if the question was from an omni and they were asking about veganism, not raw veganism? I doubt it. Everything posted on an online forum is ppl's opinion, so what would be the point of reading forums if we all had your attitude?

    Most ppl feel better as vegans, we don't all undergo tests to show this but we feel better, even if it's just knowing that we no longer contribute to animal suffering.

    Not everyone is going to be happy or feel better as a raw vegan, but to imply that we are all making it up is taking it a bit far. After a raw dinner I do not feel full, bloated or sluggish and I really feel this, I do not just pretend I feel that good.

    The first time I went raw I found it difficult because I was eating high raw, low fat after taking advice from ppl on a raw forum. I fainted for the first time 3 mths into it and slipped back into cooked vegan after that. This time around I am enjoying it a lot more because instead of taking other ppl's advice and eating high raw, low fat, I am eating more fats and foods that are tasty and fun to make and eating what I want to/feel I need.

    Raw is what you want it to be, you can just include a salad with your lunch and dinner meals or eat fruit for breakfast, no one has to go 100% if they don't want to/can't afford it

    You only have to look at before and after to photos to see how much healthier a lot of ppl look after undertaking a more raw/high raw, vegan diet. If you feel like it would help you, give it a go, that's all there is to it.
    cupcakekitteh.blogspot.com

  7. #7
    Abe Froman Risker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    Quote Kitteh View Post
    In bold for Risker :
    Would you be replying the same way if the question was from an omni and they were asking about veganism, not raw veganism? I doubt it.
    Sorry but you're wrong, I would. Obviously I'd encourage people to try a vegan diet but I hope I wouldn't resort to anecdotal evidence

    Quote Kitteh View Post
    Everything posted on an online forum is ppl's opinion, so what would be the point of reading forums if we all had your attitude?
    No it isn't, the beauty of forums is that you can post links to verifiable sources to back up your opinions.

    Most ppl feel better as vegans, we don't all undergo tests to show this but we feel better, even if it's just knowing that we no longer contribute to animal suffering.
    Well quite, straw polls are pretty much useless for this type of thing.

    Not everyone is going to be happy or feel better as a raw vegan, but to imply that we are all making it up is taking it a bit far. After a raw dinner I do not feel full, bloated or sluggish and I really feel this, I do not just pretend I feel that good.
    I never said anyone was making anything up.

  8. #8
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    The effect of a placebo effect already somehow requires that a person assumes that something (like a special diet) has a good effect. It's not commonly thought - not among vegans, and not among others - that raw food or raw vegan food is the best available diet out there, which would reduce possibilities for seeing a placebo effect. Maybe including more raw food in vegan and other diets simply is becoming more popular because people actually do feel better what relying less on cooked/fried food? Being a person who loves Indian curries, Mexican food, Thai food etc., the effect of replacing some of what I eat with raw food is pretty instant... it's not something I have to spend weeks on testing out.

    Another thing is that 'raw food' somehow have two meanings. One is "food that is raw", the other one is more like a package - a combination of ideas and use of certain food types that raw food people often use. As a comment to the title of this thread: If we use the first of these two definitions, I think it's pretty clear that by converting food that's "raw" to food that's "non-raw", there's nothing to gain in terms of mood/mental health. Eating a boiling carrot doesn't make us more happy or mentally healthier than eating a raw carrot (unless you don't like raw carrots, of course!).
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  9. #9
    Abe Froman Risker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    Quote Korn View Post
    The effect of a placebo effect already somehow requires that a person assumes that something (like a special diet) has a good effect. It's not commonly thought - not among vegans, and not among others - that raw food or raw vegan food is the best available diet out there, which would reduce possibilities for seeing a placebo effect.
    If it's a diet you've decided to try though then you've most likely decided to do it because you think there will be health benefits, or is there another more prevalent reason for going on a raw diet that I'm missing out on? Chances are you're not going to be doing it because you think it will have a detrimental effect.

    Occassionally though people do start these diets expecting a negative impact on their health, like for example when a journalist decides to try veganism as an 'experiment'. They will then often interpret things differently so that they can then feel vindicated that they were right in the first place and that going vegan has made them weak/pale/farty etc.

  10. #10
    Mew Mew Mew! Kitteh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    Basically the original poster asked for ppl's experiences and you came in here to say raw foodies will always be positive due to placebo, which is wrong and you have nothing to back that up, which is pretty funny in itself. And the 2 posts after yours were negative in terms of $.

    It's obvious you do not think much of raw, vegan food so you can't really comment because you haven't tried it. And no, posting a photo of your dinner pre-cooking as a joke, does not count as trying a raw, vegan diet.

    And Korn's right, eating one item of food raw is not going to do anything magic, but so many ppl feel the benefits of reducing the amount of cooked food in their diet, perhaps it's due to intolerances they already had or the fact that they are eating foods in their natural states and not eating as much processed foods.
    cupcakekitteh.blogspot.com

  11. #11
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    If it's a diet you've decided to try though then you've most likely decided to do it because you think there will be health benefits, or is there another more prevalent reason for going on a raw diet that I'm missing out on? Chances are you're not going to be doing it because you think it will have a detrimental effect.
    Sometimes people do stuff just to check things out. Trying a diet doesn't need to me more serious than buying a book... or a ticked to a country you haven't been in before. Just like people may be disappointed by a good, a concert or a vacation (even if they had hoped that it would have been OK when they ordered the ticket), there's no placebo effect kicking in.

    Not even that, but being more disappointed than you otherwise would have had because you had expectations since you 'thought it would be good' is also a well know reaction.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  12. #12
    Abe Froman Risker's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    Quote Kitteh View Post
    It's obvious you do not think much of raw, vegan food so you can't really comment because you haven't tried it.
    I haven't tried murder either, maybe it's not so bad.

    Quote Kitteh View Post
    And no, posting a photo of your dinner pre-cooking does not count as trying a raw, vegan diet.
    It was a joke


    Just to make it clear, I have no qualms with people eating a raw diet, it's anecdotal evidence I'm not a fan of. I think the same of this poll - http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=376 If you took a sample group of random non-vegan people and put them on a vegan diet for a period of time and then asked them to complete the same poll I very much doubt the results would be as positive as the results we have from people that decided to go vegan of their own free will.

  13. #13
    ♥♥♥ Tigerlily's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    Hi Puca.

    I have experimented with different styles of eating over the last couple of years to see if anything helps me with my moods. I tried eating all gluten-free as I heard gluten can cause depression symptoms in some undiganosed celiacs. I found out I am not celiac and being g-f didn't help. I tried various "levels" of raw veganism. It didn't do much but to be honest, I never went more than a month of raw.

    Although, I do notice a big improvement in my moods when I'm eating less junk foods, less sugar, and less caffeine.
    Peace, love, and happiness.

  14. #14
    Fervent vegan DiaShel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    Puca-
    I don't think that there is anything magical about raw foods specifically, especially say, going completely raw. I do think that eating healthier makes you feel better, the same way of anything else with health benefit (like exercise) improves your mood. Therefore, by eating more raw foods which are fruits and veggies and have high nutritional content and well food that is processed, you will feel healthier which should have an effect on your mood.
    My experience- Going raw for a month wasn't good for me, but I did it all at once. When I eat more raw food I do feel better, but this way me because it's replacing other things that aren't as healthy.
    Go for it, what do you have to lose?
    Hell, what's wrong with a placebo effect. So what if it's all in your head, that's what you're trying to affect anyway!
    "To reduce suffering means to reduce the amount of ignorance, the basic affliction with us." -Thich Nhat Hanh

  15. #15

    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    While there are a lot of people who will try a new diet just to "try it out", the diet in question (whether raw vegan, or Atkins or whatever) is promoted as having health benefits. Even someone who isn't gunho about "This is completely going to change my life around!" can still be subject to placebo effect, though the more close they are on the spectrum to "this is not going to do anything at all" then the more likely they're going to not have a positive placebo effect. However, in addition to placebo effects, there is something about raw food diets that, when compared to the average diet may introduce a real effect, though may be unrelated to whether they are eating cooked food or not - if one is eating more fruits and vegetables (especially of a greater variety), and especially if this is in comparison to a previous diet poor in fruits and vegetables, this seems plausible to improve how someone feels. But this doesn't mean that a diet excluding (or very near excluding) cooked food is superior to a diet with a larger percentage of cooked food.

    BTW, I also have anecdotes of eating cooked meals and feeling more sluggish afterward, and feeling like I have more energy after eating raw meals. For me the answer has been to up the intake of fruits and veggies, raw and cooked, and I finish cooked meals with the same energized feeling.

    I don't have anything against raw food diets, and I am sure a person can eat a healthy, well-planned diet of raw food, but much like anecdotes about health improvements after becoming vegan, I would take anecdotes about raw food health benefits with a grain of salt until confirmed with more comprehensive evidence.

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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    I've been eating about 80% raw for the past 3 months or so. Incorporating raw foods into my diet has helped my digestion immensely. Have you ever heard of a vegan with constipation?! (crazy right? lol) While eating cooked food, I felt sluggish and tired but I was eating a lot of pasta and rice, big mistake. I attribute it to those two things mainly. I feel perfectly fine eating 80% raw...I truly don't think I have to be 100% when I'm getting great results now. I do feel like I have more energy..but could that be from the sugar in all the fruit I'm eating? Mentally..I've always been a mellow, positive person so I dunno about that one...hard for me to measure it lol.

    I don't really crave food that much anymore. I use to count down the minutes til breakfast and lunch time lol. I feel more satisfied now. I say try incorporating more raw foods until you get to a point where you're feeling great. I always tell people to listen to their body first and foremost when changing or tweaking things. I never thought I would eat raw but after a friend introduced me to it through some great meals.. I told myself I woulda start eating raw foods more and see how it went and then if I felt great, then I must have been doing something right lol.

    I bought myself a Vitamix as a present and I've been using that thing 3 times a day
    ~peace & daisies to you~

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    Fervent vegan DiaShel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    Quote flyingcucumber View Post

    I bought myself a Vitamix as a present and I've been using that thing 3 times a day
    I want one sooo bad. I'm just very very broke right now... I'll have to wait till I start pulling in $$
    "To reduce suffering means to reduce the amount of ignorance, the basic affliction with us." -Thich Nhat Hanh

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    Mew Mew Mew! Kitteh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    Good to hear, FLying Cucumber I would love a Vitamix but they are a lil pricey! I think I will stick with my hand blender for now, because it does the job.
    cupcakekitteh.blogspot.com

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    flyingcucumber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    Quote DiaShel View Post
    I want one sooo bad. I'm just very very broke right now... I'll have to wait till I start pulling in $$
    yeah, i had to wait til i got a bonus from work..or i never would have been able to get it..i never have that much money laying around lol..I'm a broke soul normally.
    ~peace & daisies to you~

  20. #20
    flyingcucumber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    Quote Kitteh View Post
    Good to hear, FLying Cucumber I would love a Vitamix but they are a lil pricey! I think I will stick with my hand blender for now, because it does the job.

    I hear ya! I was like geeeez that's a lotta money...I waited til I got my bonus and drove to an expo in Long Beach just to take it home the same day.

    Gettin it was actually really a tiresome ordeal because the bank thought someone was using my card to purchase an expensive item (I don't normally spend hundreds of dollars on anything really besides rent and a car note lol) and I was like, no.. it's me..I'm trying to buy a vitamix, let me transaction go through, the expo is almost over and the people are about to leaaavve! lol.. I know it's a safety precaution but man.. I was so heated at the fact that I coulda have driven to go buy it and then have to go home empty handed...luckily it all worked out.
    ~peace & daisies to you~

  21. #21
    Mew Mew Mew! Kitteh's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    That is lucky. I'm glad you got one! I might save up a bit of $$ then get one too!
    I have had the bank ring me about large payments before but it was someone else using my card, but that was years ago now!
    cupcakekitteh.blogspot.com

  22. #22
    cedartree cedarblue's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    you lucky thing flyingcucumber! i'd love a vitamix!

  23. #23
    ♥♥♥ Tigerlily's Avatar
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    Default Re: Going raw and mood/mental health

    I want a Vitamix too! Or my old 1984 food processor back...that thing could pulverise bricks, I'm sure of it.
    Peace, love, and happiness.

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